Sunken Treasure
"Sunken Treasure" is Episode 5 in Season 8. It originally aired on September 14, 1990. Synopsis The episode begins with LeVar approaching the beach in his jeep. He says that he’s up at the crack of dawn to spend a whole day there, not for swimming or sunbathing, but for treasure hunting. After arriving at his destination, Pirates' Cove, he unveils a treasure map that he found in his attic. It was made by Dogtooth Louie, a famous pirate who looted ships off the coast hundreds of years ago, and had left behind a treasure that’s never been found. LeVar is then shown wheeling a wheelbarrow of equipment to the beach and shows footage covering the salvage crew's recovering of the Atocha's treasure, which the title book is about. LeVar is then shown trying to follow the instructions of the map, only to find himself in deep water, literally. Remarking that the beach must have changed a lot since Dogtooth Louie's time, he decides that he'll need more equipment to find the treasure. One of which is a compass, which is useful in finding one's direction when lost. He adds that modern scientists have used better equipment to find shipwrecks on the ocean floor, at which he brings up the Titanic, an ocean liner that sank in the Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg with the loss of over 1,000 lives on April 14, 1912. It is followed by an interview with Dr. Robert Ballard, the scientist who discovered the wreck of the Titanic, in which he describes the search for and discovery of it in 1985, as well as his return and exploration of it a year later. LeVar then shows the viewers to a metal detector, which can give out a beep after sensing metal objects buried underneath the sand. After testing it with a quarter, he sets out to find the treasure. After walking on the beach for a while, the metal detector starts beeping, and LeVar digs into the sand, only to discover a bucket. He remarks that it will take longer than he thinks to find the treasure LeVar has found lots of metal objects, but no treasure. Undeterred, he introduces his final ace in his quest – Baskerville, a bloodhound of which its kind is known for their incredible sense of smell, making them useful in tracking down objects. He then leads LeVar on a wild search throughout the beach until he finally comes across something. Digging into the sand, LeVar is delighted to discover that it is a chest, and opens it to find...a large bone, which Baskerville immediately claims as his prize. As Baskerville chews on it, LeVar is shocked and dumbfounded on this discovery, before realizing the meaning of "Dogtooth Louie", and noticing that the tracks on the map are paw prints instead of footprints, meaning that he was actually a dog, hence the nickname "Dogtooth". However, in spite of this revelation, LeVar is not downhearted, as he realizes one important moral – if you use the right tools and you keep on looking, you never know what you might uncover. He declares that he'll find the real treasure of his dreams one day before bidding the viewers goodbye. The closing credits roll while he examines the chest and Baskerville chews happily on the bone. Review Books *What's in the Deep?: An Underwater Adventure for Children *A Day Underwater *The Titanic: Lost...and Found Category:Season 8 Category:Episodes